So You're in Japan and Want to Climb?

Local 81 Guides is a guiding service specialized in rock climbing in Japan. Fromsingle climbers to groups to adults and kids, I'm
prepped to guide you with complete safety and total fun. Beyond my
passion for climbing, I promise to show you the magic of Japan from its amazing crags and people to down-home food and living.

Tired of the Tokyo crowds? Over 90 percent of Japanese climbers go on
the weekend. I totally recommend climbing during the week where you'll have the entire mountain to yourself. In fact, it's about the only time I climb. It's a wonderful only-in-Japan
feeling.

If you want to see what climbing with me might be
like, check out this Australian travel show called Before 30 where I was the guide.
Danny Clayton and I hit Ogawayama. See the show here.

I was also a presenter for NHK Journeys in
Japan. See the show here. And if you're coming in winter, please
come ski with me atskikaruizawa.com

MY STORY / Climbing isn't about the grade, it's about the company

Surfer Kelly Slater said this about surfing. “I’d rather be on a two foot wave with a bunch of friends
than on anything overhead alone.” I feel the same way about climbing. The point is...we don’t climb alone. And climbing is not about the grade, it's about the company. Much as life is itself,
climbing is a team endeavor. Your partner gets somewhere because you help him do it. I'm here to get you to where you want to go. Technically, we will share a rope and the bond of a knot but spirtually, we'll share
life as we know it.

I started climbing when I was 12 on a family vacation in Wyoming with a local guide. The next summer, I was on the rock again on
vacation in Montana with another role model guide. I've been a avid climber since 2004 mainly climbing in Japan but also venturing to the US (Joshua Tree, Index WA, Sawtooth Mountains ID), Brazil and
Poland. I've often hired guides to continually improve my skillset but mainly to have someone new and fun to climb with.

After 25 years of living in Japan and 15 years as a local based
producer for TV shows and movies for my company Local 81 (www.local81.jp), I decided to spend more time guiding. What I like about guiding is that
it compliments my producing quiver of world-class communication skills, risk management skills as well as logistics and problem solving. And believe me, it was way more fun to worry about the
well-being of two climbers than a crew of 50 people. Guiding also enhances my emotional skillset making me care more, respect more and empathise more. Guiding makes me motivate others as well as
myself.